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Net profit rose by 12.4 percent to 3.88 billion kronor ($592 million), slightly more than a 3.76-million-kronor-forecast by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Revenue was also up by 7.7 percen to to 9.48 billion kronor.

Handelsbanken is Sweden's largest bank in term of deposits.

"The average volume of deposits from households continued to increase ... a rise of 8 percent compared with the equivalent period in the previous year," the bank said in a statement.

The bank's ratings remained unchanged during the first quarter: AA- from Standard and Poor's and Fitch, and Aa3 from Moody's. Its liquidity reserves stayed above 800 billion kronor as the bank continued to expand in Britain, where the deposit volume increased by 29 percent compared to a year earlier.

In the Netherlands, however, the bank's deposits were down by 24 percent.

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In August last year, The Local reported that Handelsbanken was luring credit-hungry clients in the UK, opening a new branch every eight days.